Ex-ESPN President John Skipper Says He Resigned Because Cocaine Dealer Extorted Him

Back in December, ESPN President John Skipper suddenly resigned from his position. Most people probably thought he was running away from something he did behind closed doors that was going to be unearthed. It turns out Skipper did indeed have some demons and skeletons in his closet, and he soon revealed he left his job due to a cocaine problem he had.

That was the original excuse. Now, months later, he’s claiming it had more to do with his cocaine dealer extorting him.

“Skipper tells the Hollywood Reporter that after having used cocaine for years and always managing to keep it separate from his job, he mixed up with the wrong drug dealer, and that person threatened to do damage to him and to his company.

“It turned out I wasn’t careful this time,” Skipper said. “They threatened me, and I understood immediately that threat put me and my family at risk, and this exposure would put my professional life at risk as well.”

Skipper said he wished he could have gone on temporary leave from ESPN, rather than resigning, but as he talked to Disney CEO Bob Iger about his predicament he quickly came to the conclusion that he was going to have to leave permanently.

“When I discussed it with Bob, he and I agreed that I had placed the company in an untenable position and as a result, I should resign,” Skipper said.

And so Skipper resigned from what he calls “the best job in sports on the planet.”